According to a story from m.dailyhunt.in, Vinayak Sreedhar, an Indian student with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, passed away in the midst of taking his exams. Vinayak was a driven and highly ambitious young man, who drew inspiration from a disabled person who rose to great heights: Stephen Hawking, the world renowned physicist and cosmologist who died in March of last year. Hawking had a very rare, slow-progressing form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He was able to survive for nearly 50 years with the disease as it slowly paralyzed him, and continued to make great strides in scientific achievement.
About Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a neuromuscular disease, and it is one of the more severe types of muscular dystrophy. It is characterized by progressive muscle weakness that usually begins around age four and worsens quickly. As an X-linked genetic disease, boys are mostly affected, with girls only occasionally displaying mild symptoms. The disease is caused by mutations of the dystrophin gene. Symptoms of Duchenne muscular dystrophy include falling, abnormal walking posture, eventual loss of walking ability, muscle fiber deformities, intellectual disability (not in all cases), enlargement of the tongue and calf muscles, skeletal deformities, muscle atrophy, heart abnormalities, and difficulty with breathing. Treatment includes a variety of medications and therapies that can help alleviate symptoms and slow disease progression. Lifespan is usually into the thirties with good care. Better treatments for this disease are urgently needed. To learn more about Duchenne muscular dystrophy, click here.
Reaching for the Stars
The example of Hawking’s remarkable life helped the young Vinayak realize that having a disability doesn’t have to limit what you can do. The young man ultimately hoped to study cosmology and become an astronaut. He was first diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy when he was just two years old. At the time of the exams, Vinayak had very little movement left and had to have a scribe write his answers for the English and Science exams. However, despite his physical weakness, he insisted on writing for the Sanskrit exam himself.
While it is tragic to see a life taken so soon, Vinayak’s performance on the exams he was able to complete are a testament to his intellect: 96 percent in science, 97 percent in Sanskirt, and 100 in English.
